Author: Raven Shadowrose

Rating: M

Pairing: ?/?

Summary: Sequel to Epiphany, Jeff and Dixie are trying to have a baby, what happens when it is likely to be more difficult than they first thought?

Disclaimer: I do not know or own any of the characters from Casualty, any original characters and the story are my property and I do not give permission for either of them to be used.

A/N: This is a direct sequel to Epiphany, please read that first to understand this story :) Reviews are welcome :)

Thank you to BeethovenRIP, olivia. c. king1 and chan. nelson4444 for your reviews, I really enjoy reading them. I hope you enjoy the chapter :)

Chapter Twenty-Nine.

Jeff was waiting outside the changing rooms for Dixie and Sophia, she had taken plenty of different pieces of clothing into the changing rooms with her. She had turned down quite a few things already, mainly anything in pink or anything that she termed too girly. He was beginning to realise that Dixie was quite fussy and that buying maternity clothes was going to be difficult for her. He had resigned himself to being in for a long wait while Dixie figured out what she wanted. Jeff sat with John while Dixie was trying on clothes, they were playing games like hangman and tic-tac-toe while they waited in an attempt to stop them feeling bored. It was nice to spend some time with his son, they'd had a bit of chat about the baby too. Jeff wanted to keep both Sophia and John involved with the pregnancy as much as possible.

Jeff didn't understand women and their need to go shopping, what did they find so entertaining about it? A man's way of shopping is better, men decide what they go in and get it from the first shop that they come to and that's that. Women go to all of the shops and then they go back to the shop that they first went into. Jeff sighed and looked at his watch, today was going to be a very long day, he wondered if Dixie had managed to pick anything yet. He drew another table for tic-tac-toe, maybe he would actually manage to win the game this time, John was proving to be a very worthy challenger.

Dixie stood in the changing rooms surrounded by piles of fabric on the floor, she hated shopping at the best of times and she hated it even more now. Why did most maternity wear have to be all girly and fluffy. She didn't want girly and fluffy, she wanted clothing in normal colours and without stupid slogans plastered across her chest. Dixie sighed, she didn't think that it would be this hard to buy something to wear. Did the designers think that all women immediately became into kittens and other fluffy things the minute they became pregnant? She took a deep breath and forced herself to think logically about the clothes that she was looking at. She hung the jeans up on the hanger on the back of the door as she was going to have those. Dixie turned her attention to the tops that she was looking at, she decided that she needed a second opinion. 'Sophia, come in here a minute.' She opened the door and let Sophia inside. 'What do you think of these tops.' She held up a blue one and a burgundy one for her to look at.

'I like them both but I like the blue one more, it matches your eyes, I like that one the best.'

'The blue one it is, thank you sweet pea.' Dixie put the blue top with the jeans and she added a triple pack of tops in black, grey and white. She had tried to keep the colours simple and without added designs. She was mostly happy with what she had, she had to wear something after all.

Jeff was still playing games with John when Dixie and Sophia came out of the changing rooms, she was holding quite a few items of clothing in her arms and he breathed a sigh of relief as it looked as if she had chosen something at last. 'Are you ready to go Dixie?'

'Yes, I've got most of the things that I need now.'

'Good, come on princess.' Jeff held Dixie's free hand as they waited in the queue to pay for her things, he made sure that the kids were with them, they had been very good whilst Dixie was buying clothes so he would treat them to something as a reward. Dixie put everything down on the counter and the woman scanned them all in, he handed his card over and put the pin number in. 'Jeff, I was going to pay for my things.'

'Don't worry princess, this is my treat, I want to do this for you.'

'Thank you Jeff.'

'My pleasure princess.' Once everything had been bagged up they left the store. 'Do you need anything else Dixie?'

'Some underwear.'

'All right, we'll go there next.'

'Why don't you take the kids to the food court and get us something to eat while I do this.'

'Are you sure?'

'Yes, I have to be measured and get some new bras fitted, will you get me something to eat, just something light because I'm feeling a little bit sick.'

'All right princess.'

'Thanks Jeff, will you take the bags too?'

'Sure, anything for my princess.' Jeff kissed Dixie on the cheek and took the bags from her, he headed off towards the food court with Sophia and John.

Dixie headed towards the underwear department, she had an appointment that she needed to keep, her bras were becoming more uncomfortable as her chest was growing bigger. She was gong to have to find herself some maternity bras to wear or else the rest of the pregnancy was likely to be unbearable. She went to the desk by the changing rooms. 'Hi, I'm Kathleen Collier, I have an appointment to be measured for a new bra.'

'You're right on time, come with me.' Dixie followed the woman into the changing rooms, she went into the one that she was shown to. 'If you take your top off for me then I'll be with you in a moment.'

'All right.' Dixie went into the room and locked the door, she took her top off and waited for the woman to come back. She opened the door when the woman knocked and let her in. 'Lift your arms for me.' Dixie did as she was asked, she was feeling a bit uncomfortable being half undressed in front of a strange woman but it would be over soon. 'Okay, you're a 38C. What size are you normally?'

'36C.'

'How far along are you?'

'Fourteen weeks.'

'You might find that you increase in size again before the end of your pregnancy.'

'Thank you, can I get dressed now?'

'Of course you can, if you need any help choosing a bra then let me know.'

'Thank you.' Dixie put her top back on and left the changing rooms, now that she knew what size she was she could find some more bras.

Dixie looked at the various bras that were in the maternity section, she was happy to see that there was very little pink in this section. She picked out some packs of bras and some knickers that would accommodate her belly and went to pay for them. She had chosen a few nice ones as she was starting to feel her sex drive returning and she wanted to feel confident when she was getting undressed in front of Jeff. She was into her second trimester now and she was hoping that in the next couple of days the sickness that she was feeling would start to disappear. She had already noticed that she was needing to go to the toilet less and the pressure on her bladder was lessening. Dixie picked up the bags off the counter and left the shop, she went to the food court and looked around for Jeff and kids. 'Dixie!' She heard Sophia shout her name and saw her waving, she smiled and sat on the spare seat at the table, she saw that they had started eating already.

Jeff made room for Dixie at the table. 'Did you get everything that you needed princess?'

'I did, yes, I think I will have enough for a while, unless I get bigger again.'

'I got you a ham salad sandwich, is that all right Dixie?'

'That's fine love, I just need a little something to keep me going.'

'Are you still feeling sick?'

'Only a little, it is getting better, I think I will feel all right once I've had something to eat.'

'Good, I am glad to hear that princess.' Jeff knew that every pregnancy was different and some women felt sick through the whole of their pregnancy but he hoped that Dixie wouldn't be one of them. It was good that she was starting to feel better so he was hopeful that the sickness would stop totally.

'What have you had to eat kids?'

'I had cheese and salad, it was lovely, I really liked it.'

'Good, I am glad you liked your sandwich Sophia.'

'I did, it was very nice.'

'What about you John, what did you have?'

'Tuna with cucumber.'

'Did you enjoy it?'

'I did, very much.'

'Good.' Jeff watched Dixie eat her sandwich, she seemed to be enjoying it which was a relief. Once she had finished he put all of the plates together and back onto the tray

'Does anyone want ice cream?' Jeff smiled as both Sophia and John said they wanted ice cream. 'What about you Dix?'

'I think I will have some.'

'Okay kids, go and get yourself an ice cream and me and Dixie one too.' Jeff handed the kids some money and sat with Dixie while they went to buy the ice cream.

Dixie was glad she was sitting down, her back was hurting a little bit and so were her feet, she was looking forward to the ice cream now that her appetite was coming back. 'Dix, do you think that we should go away for some us time before the baby comes?'

'Us time?'

'You know, some adult time.'

'Okay, we might have to do it before I reach the third trimester as I'm likely to be too tired to do anything then.'

'All right, I'll organise something, we'll have to figure something out for the kids too.'

'I am sure that Tamzin would look after them for us, she loves the kids so she wouldn't have a problem with it.'

'She probably would look after them for us.'

'I'll ask her tomorrow and see what she says.'

'Good plan Dix, how are you feeling?'

'I'm a bit tired and have sore feet but I'm okay.'

'You can sit down and put your feet up one we get home.'

'I'll hold you to that.' Dixie saw the kids coming back with the ice cream and she realised that she really was looking forward to it.

Jeff tucked into his ice cream, he noted that Sophia had got Dixie hers and that John had got him a mix of chocolate, strawberry and vanilla ice cream, it made him smile that John had remembered what he had chosen when they had all gone to pizza hut. He made sure that Dixie was eating hers and then he tucked into his own, he noted that she looked as if she was glowing even more now. He'd also noticed that she looked less tired these days, the second trimester should be easier for Dixie and that's why he wanted to go away with her so they could spend some quality time together. He knew that she would find it harder again during the third trimester and she would need to sit down and rest so he was going to make the most of the time they had together before she gave birth and the real work began. He knew that they would be tired nearly all of the time when the baby arrived, it was important that they made time for each other while they still could.

Dixie took her new things up to the bedroom when she got home, Jeff had driven them, she was glad as she was feeling a little tired, it was nice to be able to relax. She changed into her new underwear and put on the blue top that Sophia had chosen with one her new pairs of jeans. She pulled the top down and stared at herself in the mirror, she turned to the side and placed her hands on her belly. She turned to the other side and looked at herself, there was no denying that she was pregnant now. 'You look beautiful Dixie.' She turned to see Jeff stood behind her.

'How long have you been stood there?'

'Long enough to see you looking at yourself in the mirror.'

'Oh, I wonder if this top is really me.'

'Dixie, I mean it, you look beautiful and I can't believe that you don't think so.'

'Thanks Jeff.' Dixie went over to Jeff and hugged him, she put her head on his shoulder and took comfort from Jeff's arms holding her close. It made her feel good that he thought she was beautiful, she just stood there in Jeff's arms and let him hold her. She closed her eyes and hugged him back, she breathed in his scent and relaxed, he reminded her of home and comfort.